No Passive Income http://nopassiveincome.com
Passive Income and Other Tips about BloggingThu, 17 Aug 2017 08:53:11 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.1noTake Action, Build Your Business!Nopassiveincomecomhttps://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with FeedlySubscribe with SubToMeSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with Daily Rotation5 Tips to Have Your Website Translated and Localizedhttp://nopassiveincome.com/website-translated-and-localized/
http://nopassiveincome.com/website-translated-and-localized/#respondThu, 17 Aug 2017 08:53:11 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9905Nowadays, more than 50% of the global population speaks at least two languages and can easily access cultural productions from all over the word. Yet, when it comes to master a country-specific language and its cultural codes, it is much more complex.

For this reason, translating your website might not be enough, and you may consider having it localized and optimized. Localization aims to adapt contents to the target audience’s linguistic and cultural features.

Adapting the Vocabulary and the Grammar to Your Target Country

When it comes to translating the website of an automotive company, the localization specialist will rather use the word “coche” if the company is targeting Spain, and “carro” if they want to sell in Mexico or in Colombia.

The same goes with the grammar. For example, when addressing someone, Spanish speakers usually make the difference between “tú” (informal context) and “usted” (formal context).

However, for the Argentinian or Uruguayan version of a website, the target audience will be more receptive if you use “vos” instead of “tú”. They will feel that you are addressing them directly, using their local way of speaking.

Choosing the Right Color

One single color can have different meanings according to the culture. For example, in Occident, black is the color of mourning; whereas in India or China, it is white.

MacDonald´s, one of the pioneers of marketing strategy, takes the colors very seriously. Indeed, the brand had to adapt its logo in some countries. For example, in France, the famous “M” is yellow on a green background; and in the United States, it is yellow on a red background. This is due to the fact that McDonald’s was criticized in France because it was strongly associated with junk food; the industrial aspect of the brand did not fit very well into the French culture. In the United States, home country of the restaurant chain, this image of the company was better accepted.

Prioritizing Powerful Images

Beyond the fact that the images you choose have to catch the eye of the web users, it is essential that your target clients see themselves in the pictures. For example, if you launch an ad campaign in Italy, and you only present blond characters with blue eyes, your message will be less efficient as the Italian consumers identify more easily with Mediterranean people.

However, in the hyper connected world we live in, it is important to be careful with this adaptation as it can offend some people; which will have the opposite effect and discredit your brand.

It is exactly what happened in 2012 when IKEA, the furniture giant, ended up at the heart of the polemic because they removed all the female characters from their catalogue for Saudi Arabia. In their attempt to respect the customs of the country, the brand attracted the wrath of web users and politicians from all around the world and was accused of not respecting the principles of gender equity.

Putting the Information at the Right Place

According to studies carried out about “eye-tracking”—concept of following the eye movements of the web user—the location of key information varies with the cultures.

For example, the structure and the quantity of information in a menu can be very different from one country to another.

Translators sometimes have to remove or to add details, or to change the entire tree of the content, which can be difficult for the client to understand.

Optimizing Your Website

Today, the vast majority of the researches are done via a search engine; this is why it is fundamental that the SEO robots find your website and put it on their first results page. In order to do so, the robots analyze the keywords contained in your texts, the formatting and the tags invisible to the user.

On the top of that, they take into account the external links that redirect the users to your own web pages. For example, if a reference site in your sector has a link redirecting to your website, it means that your content is valuable and you will get a higher position in the results of the search engines.

Our marketing strategists, whose objective is to enhance the visibility of their brand, describe our world as a “Global Village”. This is the reason why a simple translation of a website into several languages is not enough anymore to distinguish itself from the competition. The localization and the SEO friendly translation of a website are essential steps to reach the target audience.

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/website-translated-and-localized/feed/0How to Utilize Your Blog to Increase Your Online Reputationhttp://nopassiveincome.com/blog-increase-online-reputation/
http://nopassiveincome.com/blog-increase-online-reputation/#commentsMon, 14 Aug 2017 13:52:20 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9894Our online reputations are somewhat like biographies written about us online compiled in a list of links that tell your story.

The only challenge with this is that sometimes the story doesn’t read exactly the way we would have it read. Well, believe it or not, you do have the power to manage how your personal story is told online.

In this post, we’ll provide some unique tips on how to leverage your blog in order to increase your online reputation.

Share Your Own Bio with Your Readers in a Post

Your readership loves what you write and follows you with fervor—but do they really know much about you?

If your readers are true fans, they would love to help spread the good word about you.

Explain Yourself

If you are worried about how your readers feel about you based on your online reputation (and especially if they are starting to address it in your blog), consider explaining yourself for real and nipping issues in the bud.

People very much appreciate honesty and someone who is forthcoming.

We are all human, and most people can forgive most things if you give them the chance.

Poke Fun at Yourself

If you are worried about how your readership feels about you and your online reputation, pick a couple of the most damaging search results about yourself (depending on the severity, of course) and have a poll on your blog to have them guess which one is not true.

Create as the third option in the poll something worse than the other two items, which will make the other two appear to pale in comparison (but make it realistic so that readers will still have a hard time guessing).

Poking a bit of fun at yourself is not a bad thing, and showing that there are worse examples of humanity out there could help to put things in perspective.

Many people appreciate a person who doesn’t take himself or herself too seriously.

Write With Passion and Build Your Brand

You can’t get past this one. Creating quality content helps you build your brand. If your writing suffers because your reputation is, and you in turn are suffering, you will slowly start to lose your readership. Your wonderful writing is the reason people started following you in the first place, so do not lose touch with that, no matter how bad it gets.

Love what you do and write about it. Tai Lopez suggests to build a personal brand around what you’re best at. His name is recognized by millions around the world and he explains that while people can’t necessarily succeed by following his same formula, because each one succeeds in different ways, they can learn from the principles he shares and apply them accordingly.

There are plenty of services available to help you with reputation protection, branding and management. But having continuously fabulous content that people will continue to want to share with others is the single best way to use your blog to increase your online reputation.

Because every post read and shared is just evidence to search engines that your blog and the contents of it should remain a higher priority than a few pesky negative reviews that exist online about you.

In General

Your blog can be an extremely useful tool in helping to defend, dispel, or wholly suppress search engine rumors about you.

Don’t underestimate your readership and their appreciation for what it’s like to be imperfect and human—make sure to win back those who seem to judge you by being honest and forthright, and by winning them over with great content.

At the end of the day, your job is to do just that—provide great content.

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/blog-increase-online-reputation/feed/75 Ways Twitter Could Lead a Revolution in Social Media Marketinghttp://nopassiveincome.com/twitter-revolution-social-media/
http://nopassiveincome.com/twitter-revolution-social-media/#commentsWed, 09 Aug 2017 11:43:01 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9861The status quo of social media marketing has had its ups and downs over the years, but for the most part, it’s been pretty consistent. Across most modern platforms (like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) companies can grab free “business” accounts, post as if they were an individual user, and leverage the social power of those posts to encourage more people to visit their website. For a small additional cost, businesses can purchase ads to increase the power of those posts even further.

A steady stream of emergent technologies and new trends has occasionally modified this flow—for example, older platforms like Facebook have been slowly throttling the “organic” reach of business posts while newer platforms like Snapchat have disrupted the idea of a social “post” altogether—but few developments have completely revolutionized the game.

Twitter, current underdog in the social media marketing world, might have the potential to spark that revolution. The platform is at a crossroads, and its recent developments could cause a major disruption in the scene.

1. “Moments” Could Lead to Aggregated Social Content

Serving as an additional button on the home row, “Moments” aggregates posts from millions of Twitter users about a certain event, news story, or unfolding incident, and collect them in a meaningful way for the average viewer.

It’s proven popularity could spark a revolution not only in social media, but also in journalism. Content could be aggregated from thousands of sources at once, resulting in a reliable, unbiased depiction of almost any public event.

2. Google Integration Could Lead to Blurrier Lines Between Platforms

Twitter’s partnership with Google has also been interesting. As part of a new deal, Twitter’s entire tweet stream was made available to the search engine giant.

On mobile devices (and on desktop devices), users who search for certain types of information find recent popular tweets embedded in their search results. This could be the start of a new revolution in social and communication integration—and one where rival Facebook is already making progress.

Facebook is working on a system that integrates virtually all chat and social applications into one aggregated chat platform—so a Skype user can chat with a Facebook user on separate platforms but within the same conversation. Other platforms could easily follow this trend and start developing solutions and concessions that marry multiple platforms together.

3. Periscope Integration Could Mean More Immediate Social Transmission

One of Twitter’s most covered moves was its acquisition and integration of Periscope, once a separate social application that allows users to live stream video to their followers at any time. With Periscope users viewing 40 years of video every day, it’s easy to see how users could grow to expect a more instantly transmitted first-person perspective from their friends and followers.

Should other platforms adopt similar features, the days of typing out status updates could be over and immediate experience could be the vast majority of all updates.

4. Advertising Failure Could Be a Wake-up Call for Social Platforms

Of course, Twitter’s future isn’t guaranteed to be positive. The company has struggled with generating sufficient revenue from advertising for years.

Investors have openly expressed their concerns over Twitter’s profitability since the company’s IPO, and recent data suggests it hasn’t done much to improve the appeal of its advertising side. Without operating revenue, all those fancy new integrations and gadgets would mean nothing for Twitter, and it could wind up suffering heavy losses even if it’s at the top of its game from a functionality perspective.

Such a dramatic transition could serve as a wakeup call to other social media platforms that have failed to monetize effectively (or procrastinated doing so)—such as Snapchat or Instagram.

5. The Death of Twitter Could Spell a Downsizing Revolution in Social Media

Finally, advertising revenue aside, it’s possible that Twitter’s new integrations simply won’t fare well with their target audience. Already, Twitter users are pulled in multiple different directions with multiple different, more popular apps—it’s reasonable to think that Twitter may still go the way of MySpace if things don’t turn around. Such a surprising change could spark a wave of user rejections (and company concessions) that lead to a “downsizing” phenomenon in social media. Today there are hundreds of platforms available, covering hundreds of niches and offering overlap in functionality at every corner. Eventually, all the superfluous platforms could fizzle out (with Twitter being the first major player to suffer that fate), and users could instead focus only on the few, most popular candidates.

Admittedly, these possibilities are speculative, and some of them are direct contradictions of each other, preventing them from all unfolding simultaneously. But they’re important considerations because Twitter could realistically go in a number of different directions, from becoming a new hit through a second user revolution to fizzling out and becoming a cautionary tale. Twitter’s next moves will be especially significant for the social media world at large, so if you’re invested in a social strategy or if you just love social media, stay tuned.

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/twitter-revolution-social-media/feed/15 Ways to Build a Killer WordPress Site for Your Businesshttp://nopassiveincome.com/wordpress-site-for-business/
http://nopassiveincome.com/wordpress-site-for-business/#commentsTue, 08 Aug 2017 11:19:04 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9822Most new website owners make poor choices because they do not carefully evaluate their options. In creating your site, you can decide to hire an expert to do it for you, but that could be costly for a new business.

Thankfully, there are a lot of resources that help new business owners create their website themselves. Here are some ways to build a killer WordPress site for your business:

Select a Good Hosting Provider

If you’re new to creating a website, one of the first things you’ll have to look for is a good hosting provider. It can be daunting especially if you are not familiar with the hosting market because selecting the wrong one can be an expensive mistake. Hosting services are available in a wide range of prices and purpose, and it’s important to study its uses before deciding on purchasing one.

Choosing a Theme

Choosing a perfect theme is another challenge. The good thing is, there are plenty of great themes available in the market that are inexpensive and provides great user experience.

For good measure, make sure that your these are part of your chosen theme:

Responsive/Mobile Friendly

Supports Plugins

Fast Help Support

SEO Friendly

Good Feedback

These are the features your theme should have no matter what. Often, free themes are not equipped with good customer service support, if budget is not a problem, look for a premium theme provides quality service and updates.

For example, if you want a professional-looking theme without compromising ease of use, you can shop around at StudioPress for its sterling collections of highly optimized WordPress themes. If you want a more affordable alternative while maintaining the same quality of more popular themes, then upstarts like Meridian Themes can help you get the job done.

Choosing Plugins

Plugins make your WordPress site a whole lot better. There are thousands of plugins available in the market but you’ll only need few good ones for your new site.

WP Super Cache plugin is a caching tool that generates static HTML files from your WordPress site. Not only does it makes your site load faster, but it also provides a better experience for your users.

Losing your data unexpectedly can be the cause of losing your business. To prevent that, install UpdraftPlus to back up and keep your files safe. This plugin is also one of the top rated and installed plugin on WordPress.

Developing Content

In creating the content of your site, you have to remember that you should always put your visitors first. Meaning, it should be designed to provide relevant information interestingly. Mistakes happen when you try to make it all about your business and getting sales. Most content on your site should be customer centric, make it easy for them to buy from you, to know more about you, and contact you which will eventually lead you more sales.

Today, visitors are more likely impatient. If they don’t find the things they’re looking for, they’ll quickly abandon your site and put their business somewhere else. So, create an effective content strategy by establishing that your website provides valuable information.

Tracking and Measuring Performing

Finally, to know whether everything you’re doing is going well, you must track your site to collect insights. Running a website without knowing its statistics is an avoidable mistake.

There are too many website tools to measure page speed, understand your site’s traffic information, and provide you with details that can help you make better decisions for your site.

Closing Thoughts

For most people, building a website is a hard start. However, because digital advancements are within our reach, it’s a strong way of reaching out to your market.

If you do it right, your website can be the best marketing tool you have.

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/wordpress-site-for-business/feed/910 Safety Rules For Your First Online Business As A Freelancerhttp://nopassiveincome.com/online-business-as-freelancer/
http://nopassiveincome.com/online-business-as-freelancer/#commentsFri, 04 Aug 2017 08:36:50 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9849Freelancing is a world of challenges that can be daunting at first. After all, starting your own business for the first time is a big jump out of your comfort zone. But by no means should it be synonymous with failure.

Every day new freelancers approach the market with individual businesses and make it a success. There is no guarantee that a business idea can generate any income. But the best way to make it work, as a freelancer, is to follow a foolproof guide.

Successful freelancers agree that the following were their safety rules to launch their business.

1. Research the market

Whether you choose to embrace the freelancing life or you decide to become an entrepreneur, there is no way around it. No business can start without a thorough market research.

Indeed, without knowing your target audience, your competitors, and the market trends, it’s impossible to present an offer that will attract buyers. You might have a business idea, but without a market analysis, it’s not enough to rock a new trend.

2. Plan your business launch

A successful business launch takes time. In fact, for Tender Greens, a restaurant that serves organic, farm-fresh dishes, it took around two years between the first idea and the opening of the first restaurant in 2006.

The delay here is pretty normal for a complex business concept. If you are offering a simple service, such as creative painting or freelance accounting services, you might be able to bring the planning time down to a couple of months.

In the end, the more time you spend planning the launch, the better you know your offering and the culture that you want to build. In other words, the better you plan, the stronger your market position will be.

3. Make it look professional

Yes, you might decide to work as a freelancer, but it doesn’t mean that your online presence should be homemade. A freelance business is designed to create an income, therefore look attractive and reputable to potential customers.

It’s important to work with a web design company to ensure that you present a functional and engaging website that can compete against similar businesses. You need to remember that some of your competitors may be small or medium-sized companies. They got professionals working on their websites, and on their brand design. You need the same level of details to survive in their market.

4. Differentiate yourself

Whichever area you pick, the market is a crowded space. Finding the services you want to offer is one thing, but it’s not enough. Telling people why they should go with you instead of someone else is key to stand out.

What can you do that others can’t? What do you have that makes you better? The process of differentiation is difficult.

For Tender Greens, for instance, it was about showing their customers the cooking process and the organic label. The secret is that nothing is hidden. It’s a strong differentiator. What will yours be?

5. Cultivate a positive presence

An online business requires an online presence, for freelancers as well as long-established companies. Without a positive online presence, there can be no path to success. If you choose to promote yourself as a brand, your online presence is the combination of all your online activities, from social media platforms to blog articles.

It’s important to use the planning time to develop your presence and share your expertise. Blog articles and teasing social media content are a great way of gathering a small audience before you’re ready to launch.

6. Don’t start without a money plan

Let’s get something clear from the start: A new business needs a budget. There are plenty of ways to come to the necessary funds and not all of them involve using your savings. From investors to loans, if you know how to convince people that your business idea is solid, you can start with a comfortable budget. But convincing is an art that is difficult to master.

A few tips to get you started here: You need to stick to the thing that you said you were going to do, and you need to focus on staying authentic. You don’t need to sell yourself; you need to be yourself and to explain how your idea works and why you believe in it. If you are applying for a loan, you’ll need to provide sufficient research about your expected profits and costs – that’s where the market research comes in handy!

7. Define your brand

As a freelancer, you can’t just introduce yourself as the guy next door. You need to create a professional brand that supports your business. Your brand is how you want customers to think about you.

The logo is an element of your brand, as it allows your audience to identify your business. And the link between your logo and your brand is your visual identity – from the kind of letterhead you pick for your invoices to any form of messaging. Before your business launch, you need to have established these elements so that you can provide from Day One strong identifiers.

8. Stick to a plan

Do you remember your market research? It’s likely that you’ll find that success will take time, as it rarely happens overnight – even when you think it does, it is generally the result of several months or years of work.

Consequently, you need to plan your business actions to create some buzz and build up a customer base. Why do you need to plan it in advance? Because however successful your business launch is, you won’t be selling en masse immediately. Therefore, it’s helpful to plan your marketing activities in advance, so that you stay focused and avoid panic-stricken decisions as a last resort.

9. Take it seriously

It’s a business. The only way it will work is if you work at it. You need to be the first person to believe in your success and to invest energy in it. The rest will follow.

10. Improve your skills

As a freelancer, you are completely exposed. When something in the project goes wrong, it reflects on your services. You can’t always avoid mistakes. But you can keep your skills updated and follow training courses to make sure that your customers are receiving the best service possible from you.

There’s no guarantee of success in the freelancing world. But in the end, the only golden rule that can make it possible for all those who try is: Work hard and don’t give up.

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/online-business-as-freelancer/feed/4How Important is Your Online Image as a Business Owner?http://nopassiveincome.com/online-image-business-owner/
http://nopassiveincome.com/online-image-business-owner/#commentsTue, 01 Aug 2017 12:23:09 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9808As a business owner, there are many things you need to think about for your online image. Customer satisfaction is indeed one of the most important factors to consider!

Like it or not, what people say about your company online matters. It may influence future relantionships and business deals, not to mention your brand.

Here a few factors you need to keep in mind when working on the online image of your business.

How is Online Image Established?

The first thing to keep in mind is that your online image is much more than just your social media sites and blog.

Rather this includes everything you do (or don’t do) online, from images and videos you share to comments and posts on other websites and articles.

Even if your business checks in with Foursquare or similar sites, it will be part of the online image.

Why is Online Image Important?

Studies have shown that most people will look up a company online before they use them.

What many people do not realize is that even posts on Twitter and Facebook, even though they seem to be private, can be found during a Google search. This means that potential customers can see your various activities and updates.

This is why it is important to make sure that you are putting out the right information online.

How to Start Building Your Online Image

If your business is new to the internet, there are a few things you will want to do to create a solid online image. For one, having a website is an excellent way to tell people about what you offer.

You will also want to create a blog. The idea of the blog is to give useful information to your potential customers rather than just tell them why you are the best.

Now, you can talk about and link to your business in the blogs, but you want the majority of the article to be about useful information.

You also want to establish social media sites for your business. Not only will this help to make your business more visible, but it is also a great way to communicate with your customers and know what they are looking for.

There are many different sites out there that you can use, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. If you are concerned about managing them, then there are even apps that help to sync your sites.

With this, Instagram can be a great marketing tool as you can post new products or teaser pictures of different things for your business.

Rather than blogging and social media, customer surveys can be helpful to do a little research before starting to build your image. What does your audience like? What they don’t like? What are their preferences? Creating a customer survey may seem difficult, but it’s easier than it sounds. Remember, keep questions short to increase participation and ask just what you need to fullfil your goals. Also, you may want to reward people who complete your surveys. A bonus, in form of a discount, a giveaway or a credit.

Managing Your Online Image

Once you have established an online presence, the best thing you can do is ensure that you keep the image you want.

There are a few tips you can use to get the best results from this.

1. Be proactive

The best way to avoid having a negative image is to keep it from happening in the first place.

2. Think about every post or comment before you put it online

Anything you post can stay on the internet for decades. This is why you want to think about any negative connotation something you say will have before it is said.

3. Be careful about who has admin rights

Some companies allow several admins on their social media sites, which can lead to insensitive or negative posts being made. This could simply be someone accessing the social media site from their home after having a few drinks or a disgruntled employee. Make sure you have the right admins to avoid issue.

4. Keep posts positive

No one wants to do business with a company that is always negative. This is why the best thing you can do is to keep posts light and fun with a positive twist. The only exception to this is when there is some sort of disaster and you want to send out your thoughts and regards to those involved.

5. Stay Neutral

There are many issues that people get fired up about, specifically politics and religion. Though as the business owner you have your own beliefs, the worst thing you can do is express this as the views of the business. Rather you want to make sure that you steer clear of this negative image by staying neutral on the topic.

6. Regularly conduct Google searches

Doing a search for your business will help you to have an idea of where you stand. Not only will this allow you to see what has been posted by your company but also what other people are saying about the company.

7. Customer Surveys

Keep questions short and answering options simple. For example, a rating scale works just fine, because it’s quick and easy. Think about text boxes: they make your survey looks time-consuming and they are also hard to analyse, at first glance.

Before sending out your survey, make a test drive with a few customers. And remember, always measure and track the client’s feedback over time, by periodically send out surveys, so to keep improving your business and online image.

Outside Online Image Help

There are companies out there that can help you manage your online image. This can be ideal for companies that have a negative image that they want to change or even just for companies that do not have time to focus on this aspect of the business.

The thing to keep in mind though is that the cost for this can be substantial. However, if you already have a company that handles your online marketing, then this may not be much more.

Tip 1: Pay Your Bills As Soon As They Arrive

If the problem is you simply can’t remember to pay your bills, then this tip is exactly what you need.

Open your bills as soon as they arrive, whether by traditional mail, email or other online method. Most banks and other creditors offer bill pay reminders that allow you to set up alerts and notifications when bills are available and when they are due.

There are also reminder apps that can help you manage you monthly bills. Check out this review of 16 best bill reminder apps.

And if the main problem is that you’re on a tight budget, then keep reading because the rest of this article is just what you need.

Tip 2: Make a List of Monthly Bills

Make a list of all your bills and the amount you owe for each bill.

For some items this will be a fixed amount each month and for other items, like electricity, you should estimate a monthly amount based on your past bills.

Once you have your list, organize your monthly bills by priority.

For instance, the necessities like housing, insurance or child care come first, then secured bills (which may also be necessities) like a mortgage or car payment, and finally unsecured bills like credit cards.

Next, organize them by due date.

Easy, right?

Tip 3: Create a Monthly Budget

Create a monthly budget that details all of your income and expenses, including bills that you don’t pay regularly, and stick to it. This article from Nolo will help you.

Another good idea is to open separate bank accounts for bills, discretionary spending, and savings.

A savings account is a must for emergencies or in the event you lose your job.

You can even set up automatic transfers from one account to the others so that you don’t have to remember to transfer the funds each month.

But don’t stop there.

Review your discretionary spending to identify way to reduce your monthly expenses and consider establishing an individual retirement account (“IRA”) (or contribute to any 401k program offered by your employer).

An IRA will help you to manage your future financial needs and pay off your bills after you retire.

Tip 4: Set Up a Bill Payment Schedule

Now that you have organized and prioritized your list of monthly bills, determine two days per month that you will set aside for paying bills.

If you are paid bimonthly, it’s a good idea to have these days coincide with the dates you are paid (or simply use the first and fifteenth of the month as these dates are easy to remember).

Pay half of your monthly bills on each of the dates you have designated.

There are bill payment templates available to help you with this such as the one available here.

You can also sign up for automatic bill pay through your bank or creditor.

If you need to change the due dates on some of your bills to fit your payment schedule, talk to your creditors.

Many are willing to negotiate due dates or allow you to change your due date directly on their website.

Tip 5: Keep Track of Your Bills

Keep track of due dates and make sure that you have received each of your bills for that month.

Designate a place for storing your bills and divide them into the two payments dates identified above in Tip 4.

As noted in Tip 1 above, check with your bank and creditors for any bill notifications and reminders they offer, or use one of the reminder apps or websites.

With all the resources available today, it couldn’t be easier to keep track of your bills.

Tip 6: Finally, Get Out of Debt

Stick to your budget. Really, stick to your budget!

If you have properly documented your monthly bills and income and looked for ways to reduce non-essential expenses, you have taken the first step to getting out of debt.

Its important to put money into savings each month, but if you have any extra funds after savings, use them to pay off high-interest debt.

If you need help paying your bills, talk to your creditors and find ways to lower your interest rates or seek financial counseling.

You can find a list of approved counseling agencies from the Justice Department.

Emergency loans are also available when you are in immediate need of cash. As everything in the world they have their pros and cons and you should use them with caution.

I should add that one of the main advantages is that such short-term loans are really fast. It takes 3 minutes to apply online and if approved by lender, you can get cash as soon as the next business day!

Conclusion

Do you really still think that paying off your bills is not within your reach?

By strictly following these six simple tips, you can have peace of mind that you are financially secure, both today and after you retire.

Ask yourself which is more important: preparing for your future or having another dinner out?

I’d love to hear your success stories about how you have been able to manage your budget and if you have learned how to pay off bills.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends.

Thanks for reading!

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/how-to-pay-off-bills/feed/6Four Useful Tips to Bring Prosperity to Your Business via Twitterhttp://nopassiveincome.com/twitter-for-business/
http://nopassiveincome.com/twitter-for-business/#commentsWed, 26 Jul 2017 12:06:40 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9797As one of the largest social networking sites, Twitter has been put into a comparison position with Facebook (the largest platform for social interaction) since its birth, especially on business field.

People usually hold the view that Facebook works more efficient than Twitter (it’s understandable, as it requires far greater vision to bring out the best from the 140 words limitation), but that’s not the case.

Successful promoting cases are available as proof to indicate that as long as measures are taken properly, Twitter is bound to be an efficient channel for business.

1 . Win Your Twitter Followers’ Trust

Nothing comes easy. The phrase could also apply to business on Twitter. It takes you great efforts to attract oodles of followers, but it will take much more to earn followers’ trust, which is a significant step to turn them into loyal purchaser.

When you have got a certain number of followers, it’s time to build up your own group and invite your followers to participate in.

Being the administrator, it’s your duty to come up with articles, practical skills, or informative materials relevant to your field regularly.

Also, you should be well-prepared to answer questions and give suggestions in time. In that way, followers will gain great confidence as well as trust to your expertise and in return for this, the trust will mutate into confidence to your products; so that your business will see a real boom and your efforts will be rewarded.

2 . Using “Hashtag” Ingeniously

Hashtag is a useful tool provided by twitter, but only a few users have grasped tricks of it. According to its definition, hashtag is s community-driven convention for adding extra content and metadata to your tweets.

You could search your favorites by adding keywords behind”#”. People often use it to seek for people with the same interest, career, niche and topics.

You are capable to search for people or group with the hashtag related to your business marketing and interact with them. In that case, you are accessible to targeted followers more efficiently; invite them to your group and exchange information freely.

Moreover, it’s a wise decision to add you a hashtag to get focused by other users searching for the same tag.

It’s shame to have your business competitors use hashtag to promote their brands while you are still aware of its function.

3 . Make the Most of the 140 Words

Word limitation is the most highlighted feature of Twitter, also the most controversial one.

People often doubt the possibility of launching business project by the limitation for it seems far from enough to a product’s description, not to mention the usual detailed material for brands. But nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

Designing your words in simple and expressive ad way may give you a surprise!

You can get inspiration from good tweets. For example, here’s a recent one from Sam Ovens:

Forget b2b and b2c. It’s p2p. People to People.

The tweet above receives a good reflection from both consumers and businesses.

According to a survey, it you are able to make followers’ eyes lingering on your tweets for more than five seconds, they will have a to click the URL to the product. So, play your words carefully and drag followers’ attention.

4 . Use Twitter as a Channel to Increase Traffic

Maybe from your perspective, all the above tips are insufficient to your promoting plan. Then you could try this way: using Twitter as a tool to supplement traffic of Facebook or your official websites.

Every time new product is released, you could tweet to your followers with a link connected to your online shop, but the sales merely depends on followers’ interest or your influence on them.

So try to offer some discount coupons from time to time to lure them to click the links.

The four tips above have turned out feasible by a large number of pioneers. So if you are launching your business on Twitter now, why not have a try?

They won’t let you down.

Do you have any other tips to add?

Do you use Twitter for business?

Please share your strategies and comments below, thanks!

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/twitter-for-business/feed/14How to Make Money By Selling Art Onlinehttp://nopassiveincome.com/make-money-selling-art-online/
http://nopassiveincome.com/make-money-selling-art-online/#commentsTue, 18 Jul 2017 13:28:37 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9775Selling artwork online is a profitable business. Doing it the right way, however, is the real challenge. The key to selling art is all about finding the proper price and selling in the ideal place. If you decide jump aboard the art train, there are a few things you should know. Learning the basics is of the utmost importance.

In order to begin, there are several components that you must have at hand. The first of which is a passion for art. Along with enthusiasm, you also need decent knowledge of artistic trends. Selling anything involves communicating with people, so you need a positive attitude toward public relations. Lastly, having creativity is also very helpful.

This guide will further explain how to sell art on the internet.

Evaluating Artwork

When looking to sell art, you should note that one of the most important business aspects is the evaluation of artwork. Your evaluation will determine sales prices. If you are not already an industry expert, this is not something that you can initially do yourself.

When starting out, you will need to hire an expert who can provide advice. Obviously, you will also have to pay the expert for his work, so it’s better to decide early whether or not you can afford this additional expense.

There are some paid websites that, at a lower cost than an art expert, can provide you with adequate and accurate evaluations. For emerging artists, however, the approach to evaluation is simpler. There are, in fact, precise parameters that take into account the artist’s fame, technique used, and size of the work to be evaluated. On the internet, you can find the tables containing these parameters with ease and at no cost.

Selling the Artwork

Once the art pieces in your possession have been evaluated, it’s time to sell them. The way you proceed will be different depending on the works you intend to sell.

For example, if you want to sell top-notch paintings, be aware that, if the collecting market is too large, the sale process is often quite difficult. This is because the art market is affected by the current crisis. Collectors are also unaware that the paintings they are interested in are in your possession. Of course, you need to spread the news, and an effective way to do this is to contact an online or live auction house.

Auction sessions are attended by very large and wealthy audiences. This provides more chances to sell the artwork. Auctions are handled by a prepared advertiser who knows how to raise the purchase prices and entice buyers. The advertiser also ensures the sales are facilitated.

However, if you want to sell the work of artists who are not yet famous, you can create your own online sales site. You will use your site to promote new artists and their creations. This method allows you to reach a vast audience and, by making your site appealing, will increase the possibilities of success. You can also use this sales system to promote artwork created by yourself.

Building Your Own Brand

People need to understand who you are. The world of the web creates distrust, because reports are filtered by a monitor, rather than in person.

The only way to break this wall of distrust is to become well known in the art industry. In other words, you need to build a reputation. This process takes place through various channels and requires a lot of work. However, when the public begins to understand your value, people will happily visit your website knowing you can be trusted. At that point, you will be very close to making actual sales.

As mentioned before, the first step is to build an online presence. Invest time and money in creating your own professional website. Choose a proper layout for the site. Be sure to take professional pictures of the artwork and write complete descriptions for each of the pieces you want to sell. Try to enhance the user experience by focusing on creating value and sharing the experience you have in the art industry.

Online forums and communities unite users by a specific topic. Finding the sites related to art will provide an excellent opportunity to promote your work. Remember to create a trusted reputation on these sites by sharing your experience and helping other users. This will, in return, give you free advertising with people visiting your website.

Social networks are among the most useful tools to inform your audience about your artistic activity. A huge amount of users connect to these networks everyday. Effective marketing strategies could turn your artwork viral on the net in a very short time. You must build a presence on the following social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Here’s a good article to read, howCory made $50,000 selling art on Facebook.

You can also create free online web-based seminars to present your works. Talk about art topics and your work. To accomplish this, there is software available. You just need a good quality webcam and a microphone.

Collaborating with other people in the art industry can be a winning move. Make connections with art bloggers and other influencers in your market. After carefully searching for them, try to build a relationship by visiting their websites and connecting with them on social media. Sharing your experience and proposing a consistent collaboration that can be profitable for both parts.

Consider Opening an Art Gallery

Aside from the internet, another step when selling artwork can be opening an art gallery. Starting one is quite simple, and does not have to involve excessive bureaucracy.

Just choose the right place, adapt it to your needs and set it up. Obviously, you will need to get all the required permissions before opening. You will also need a good accountant, since the taxation on art galleries is often special. Be sure to check all the requirements in your country.

At the beginning, you can rent a small room, possibly in the central and passage area of your area, where you will exhibit the works for sale. Later, if things are going well, you can opt for a larger exhibition space and a more impressive location. Renting a small shop in a lively tourist resort could also be beneficial. This will, of course, lead to higher quote for the rent, but it may give you a higher economic outlook because of the greater appreciation of potential buyers.

Please remember that, in the beginning, you should not raise prices too much. This is especially true if the artwork is your own creation. If you are really passionate about art, you can join some special courses to expand your knowledge. If you want to open your own art gallery, it’s a good idea to attend some specific internships or to experience some months in a gallery that has already started.

Good luck selling art online!

]]>http://nopassiveincome.com/make-money-selling-art-online/feed/16The Main Business-related Courses Every Entrepreneur Should Considerhttp://nopassiveincome.com/business-related-courses/
http://nopassiveincome.com/business-related-courses/#commentsTue, 18 Jul 2017 09:57:33 +0000http://nopassiveincome.com/?p=9770Every business owner needs to be as resourceful and independent as possible when they are running a business.

Attending relevant business-related courses is one of the most effective ways to do this, as it will help you to develop important business skills and obtain the knowledge you need to succeed in business.

Below are some of the most important business-related courses every entrepreneur should consider on their journey to success.

Finance-related Skills and Knowledge

Understanding your business’s finances is crucial if you really want to take control of your business and the path it takes in the future. Many business owners prefer to leave this side of their company to financial experts.

However, you should at least have a basic understanding of bookkeeping and how to manage your business’s finances. This will ensure that you understand everything your accountant, bookkeeper, or other financial professional is doing on behalf of your organization.

Some entrepreneurs prefer to take things a step further and decide to complete a course like the bachelors degree in accounting. If you think you won’t have the time available to complete a course like this, you should think again because there are many online courses available, such as the online bachelors of accounting program that is offered by well-known universities like Maryville University.

Sales and Marketing Skills

Most businesses sell some type of product or service. As the owner of your company, you have to give your customers and shoppers a really good reason to deal with you and your business.

Attending a sales and marketing course will develop your selling and marketing skills so that you can lead from the front in this area of your organization.

Communication Skills

The ability to communicate in a clear and effective way makes things easier in every walk of life. This is particularly true when it comes to the business world and the way people in a business interact with each other and the outside world.

Once again, as the head figure in your company, you must lead by example by continually improving your communication skills. There are many short courses available that are designed to develop a whole range of interpersonal and communication skills including oral, written, listening, and diplomacy skills. Once you master these skills, you should then ensure that everyone in your company is also sent on such courses.

Organizational Skills

The more organized a business is, the more efficient and professional it should become. This is why all entrepreneurs need to learn how to manage, control, and delegate in an effective way, so that your workplace always meets its deadlines, always produces high-quality products or services, and always deals with customers, suppliers and other business associates in the proper manner.

Continually learning new things is a sign of a great business leader. This is what every business owner should aim to do so that they understand their business better and they have more control over everything that happens in their organization.